Alwan Zeater علوان زعيتر - RELEASED

A journalist, Alwan Zeater علوان زعيتر, born in 1977, was detained upon his return from a trip to Libya and charged and sentenced in Syria for alleged contact with Syrian oppositionists while he was in in Libya covering the Libyan revolution in February-March. Alwan Zuayter (Zeater) is from the city of Raqqa in Syria.

Although he is a civilian, he was sentenced in Military Court, Aleppo to five years related to an offense to stir armed rebellion in Syria. But it has been shown that the detainee Alwan had nothing to do with any armed conflict and he has now been released.

Author Alwan Zuaiter “I am trying and will remain until the end of life for peace for all people ….”

I have the somewhat daunting task of researching each individual as I update the Syrian Political Prisoners page daily. Each person suddenly comes to life, their stories of personal achievements and testimonies from family, friends and colleagues fill pages. When I got to Alwan Zeater علوانزعيتر I found out he was an accomplished human rights activist, writer and journalist who had written for newspaper and online publications in Lebanon, Libya, Algeria and Yemen. Alwan was a narrator of social conflicts in the Middle East. As luck would have it I made contact with him through his facebook page after his release.

Alwan was arrested March 16, 2011 when he was returning from in Libya were he had been working. He was placed in the Intelligence Branch in Deir al-Zour where they practiced torture especially psychological, they threatened to harm his wife and children if he did not confess. The military courts charged him with participating in armed rebellion. He was tortured beaten and forced to sign a false confession while being handcuffed they charged him with civil disobedience. They then sent him to a civil prison in Raqqa. In prison he was beaten and punished for peaceful protests when other men had already died by being shot as they protested peacefully. After Alwan had been interviewed by the Arab League in January 2012 he granted his freedom in late February 2012 after 11 months of detention.

Alwan now lives in Turkey near the border of Syria.where he is writing and advocating for the people in Syria. I asked him would like to say anything to our readers? And he replied, “In Raqqa my hometown there are over 2,500 families that are refugees from Homs, Hama, Idlib and Latakia the humanitarian situation is getting more difficult everyday.” Fear seems to loom as Alwan continues “the government has taken artillery tank positions 50 km west of the city and lots of army reinforcements daily, along with a steady build up of militarism surrounding the city.The refugees are afraid of what could happen and need help.”

In Turkey Alwan has been trying to get a group of doctors to help set up a field and relief center office in Raqqa or near by to help with housing, food, and health needs for refugees. Alwan explains, “There are sometimes two or three families living in one room, people are sleeping in businesses and outdoors. The refugees are afraid of their children being hurt. And the people who are trying to help the refugees in Raqqa are in constant threat of being arrested or killed.”

At the end of our interview Alwan states, “I am trying and will remain until the end of life for peace for all peoples of the world. I will remain active in human rights I will write stories that embody the suffering of people in the Middle East in general and Syria in particular on cases and violations of human rights. I will remain active in human rights.” Alwan is now staying at a home that helps Syrian civilian casualties and plans to return to Raqqa as soon as he can with help for the refugees and friends.